MOTORCYCLING race team Team Tasker from Clackmannan got the 2016 racing season off to a flying start with some early success over the past few weeks.

Whilst participating in the first round of the NEMCRC championship round held at Croft race circuit near Darlington, reigning Formula 600cc Champion Sammi managed to beat her own personal best time down to 1min 30.4sec to keep her in the hunt for the rest of the season to defend her title.

This is a big ask as she has to compete against newer and more powerful machinery, but the girl herself is up for the challenge.

Sammi said: “I’m always up for a battle, so this year will be no different, and I will give it my all throughout the year."

Brother Andrew also had a brilliant weekend racing against a who’s who in club, British and Isle of Man TT championships.

During a very wet qualifying session Andrew managed to get himself on pole position in a grid of thirty-four riders.

During race one Andrew piled on the pressure and won the race handsomely by over eleven seconds. The second race was not quite so easy as the track was drying out quickly and Andrew had to settle for second place – but only by a second to the winner – a full time British Superstock rider.

On the Sunday the weather was perfect for racing and all the racers were looking forward to a good days racing after fettling their machines ready for a dry days racing.

Race three had to be red flagged after a big pile-up at the first corner which resulted in two bikes going up in a blaze of fire and smoke. On the re-start it came down to a two horse race leaving all others in their wake and again the full time BSB rider won on his new for 2016, a 200bhp plus BMW 1000RR.

Not to be despondent Andrew put on a new set of tyres as he knew it was all down to the last race of the weekend and time differences between the race wins might come into play for the final result – but only if he won the last of the four races of the weekend.

Down to the grid all the riders on the front row gave each other 'the fist' for good luck and off they went. Andrew came through to second after the initial first lap chaos and gave chase to the same rider on the BMW.

It was nip and tuck throughout the ten lap race and it came down to a very high speed move by Andrew who passed into first place around the outside of the BMW rider going into the very fast 'Sunny-in' corner.

There was no reply from the BMW rider through the last two laps and Andrew crossed the line in first place to the delight of the crowds and his team.

So it was two first places and two seconds to each of the two riders and as thought, it came down to time differences for each of the four races and Andrew won by seventeen seconds across the four races.

Andrew was presented with the coveted Ken Redfern Trophy by Kens brother and past mechanic.

Andrew added: “This trophy is very special to all racers as not only have I won it before, but also the likes of Joey Dunlop, David Jeffries, John McGuinness, Jamie Whitam, Jim Moodie and Ian Simpson to name but a few going back to 1974.”

After such a great weekend the team are now concentrating on the up and coming Scottish Superbike Championship which Andrew has won the last two years, but every year there are more and more racers who want to win that trophy also, so the team are up for another challenging year.

If anyone would like to help in any way, or would just like to keep up with what’s going on please visit the Teamtasker facebook page.